2016 Mazda CX-3: The sportiest small crossover?

If it drives as good as it looks, it's a winner already.

The reveal of an all-new subcompact crossover typically elicits reactions from us that border on comatose. We look up, shrug, and then pour a beer and fantasize about all the bolt-ons we want to buy for our track cars. Or that classic Ford Bronco we could totally bring back from the brink of death. To this bleak landscape comes Mazda, bursting in with its all-new CX-3, talking up a storm about driving pleasure and Jinba-Ittai at the 2014 L.A. auto show. Hold that beer a sec, will ya?

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Miata fans will recognize the phrase, which in Japanese loosely translates to: "man, horse, one body." Over the years, it has come to define Mazda's philosophy for the MX-5 Miata and is a perfect distillation of the company's efforts to entertain drivers. To Mazda, Jinba-Ittai represents the ideal mixture of handling, power, braking, and steering. No single element overpowers the other. They're all balanced and easily exploited by the pilot, and the idea that Mazda even considered this when developing the CX-3 is cause for enthusiasts to stop and take notice.

"Mazda"

It Looks Great

Sharing the attractive Kodo design language with the brand's Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-5, and the upcoming Mazda2, the new SUV features a tight greenhouse perched atop flowing fender flares. In top-spec trims, the CX-3 wears 18-inch wheels that fill the cutouts nicely and impart an athletic stance. The front and rear end treatments are essentially scaled down versions of the CX-5's. This is not a bad thing.

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The passenger cabin is very similar to the 2016 Mazda 2's, which should come as no surprise given that the two share a platform. In fact, the CX-3's Italianate three-vent dashboard and neat center stack appear to be swiped directly from the 2. Style and substance abounds, with a high-resolution, seven-inch touchscreen center display, a McLaren-style three-pod gauge cluster, and an infotainment control knob that'd look at home in a BMW 7-series.

"Mazda"

SKYACTIV-ate

Mazda's full suite of Skyactiv engine, transmission, and chassis technologies is on display here. Essentially a strict weight-control regimen blended with efficient-but-powerful engines, the Skyactiv ethos is intended to keep fuel economy in check without murdering the driving experience. The wheelbase measures 101.2 inches, exactly the same as the 2016 Mazda 2. Other CX-3 dimensions are slightly bloated relative to the global Mazda2, including its 168.3-inch length (8.5 inches longer) to its 69.5-inch width (2.8 inches wider) to its 61.0-inch height (1.9 taller).

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All US-market 2016 CX-3s will be powered by Mazda's 2.0-liter Skyactiv four-cylinder paired with a six-speed automatic. Although we lament the unavailability of a manual transmission (Mazda is torturing us by having a global model with the stick on the show display), Mazda's in-house automatic is among the better such gearboxes we've sampled. No further details have been provided for the CX-3's engine, but the same unit produces 155 horsepower and 150 lb-ft of torque in the abundantly fun Mazda3, specifications we expect will carry over nearly—or totally—unchanged. If that's the case, look out, as a 2014 Mazda3 with the same powertrain that CAR and DRIVER tested hit 60 mph in 7.6 seconds.

"Mazda"

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Front-wheel drive is standard, and an all-wheel-drive system derived from the CX-5's is optional. Choosing four driven wheels adds extra bracing for the body around the spare-tire well and behind the rear seats. On the safety front, Mazda's i-Activsense bundle of technologies is promised; that means that blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, radar-based collision warning with automatic braking, and even adaptive cruise control should be offered on the CX-3.

Expect full specifications, features, and pricing to trickle out over the next several months as we approach the CX-3's mid-2015 on-sale date. The most important missing detail, of course, is how the CX-3 lives up to its sporty promise. The most recent Mazdas are, frankly, a ball to drive, so we can't wait to get our hands on the CX-3.

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